Guys my Age
by Varmint
Summary: Ino, Tenten, and Kiba love to hang out at a restaurant. A lot of very important parts of their lives are lived in there. A lot of heartbreak is felt there, too. But a lot of good memories come out it. (Or that one story legit only one person asked for about these three falling in love with older people.) Full list of pairings inside. But endgame Kiba/Ibiki, Tenten/Sakura, Ino/Genma


Title: Guys my Age

Summary: Ino, Tenten, and Kiba love to hang out at a restaurant. A lot of very important parts of their lives are lived in there. A lot of heartbreak is felt there, too. But a lot of good memories come out it. (Or that one story legit only one person asked for about these three falling in love with older people.)

Pairings: (Start) Ino/Sai, Kiba/Neji, Tenten/Sakura

(Found throughout) Kiba/Shikamaru, Ino/Kankuro, Kiba/Yugao

(End Game) Tenten/Anko, Ino/Genma, Kiba/Ibiki

Sidenotes: This was a request from Smartasswolf23. And, really, it was more like she gave me a storyline and a bit of story, then I ran off with all of that. Hope you all enjoy this!

..~..~..

One early Tuesday afternoon found three teenage chunin sitting at their booth inside of their favorite restaurant. It had opened up about two months ago, but had quickly become their preferred place to meet up because of the variety of food it offered. From breakfast to dinner all day, then all the way to the best desserts in all of Konoha from a non-Akimichi establishment, there was no doubt in their minds about why they loved the place so much.

It was especially loved by them because it offered something for each of them. Before, it had been hard to agree upon a meeting place because they never could coincide with what they wanted to eat. Now, though, there were more than enough options and they loved that.

"What the hell am I going to do guys?" Ino bemoaned to her friends, arms crossed over her chest as she sat with her back up straight. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Ino had been dating Sai for a little over six months and had just reached the end of her rope when it came to her beau. The blonde had been sure when she had started dating him that she could perhaps show him how to feel and be alive again... Her mother had warned her against trying to change a man so many times... Why hadn't she listened?

"I don't know why you haven't just dumped him yet," Tenten chimed in with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Out of the three, she had been the only to never understand the need of a stable and long term relationship. She had never been one to stay in a relationship, if one could call them that, for too long. She had always said that she didn't want to be held down by another person. And for the longest time, she had stuck with this pseudo-creed.

"Jesus, can't she leave me alone for two minutes?!" The chunin growled out suddenly, throwing her arms up in exasperation as her cellphone chirped once more.

This small device was the source of all her current frustrations... Well, _most_ of them. The big problem was the only person she had ever thought she'd love.

Something had changed when Sakura had asked her out that fateful day. The pink haired kunoichi was stability when Tenten was erratic, but she was also energy when Tenten wasn't feeling upbeat. They were each other's balance and Tenten had loved it so much in the beginning. This whole 'dating' thing had been odd at first... But she'd taken a liking to it after a while. She'd taken a liking to Sakura in just a tiny bit of time.

"At least neither of you have a significant other that keeps hiding your relationship." The only male at the table huffed as he tried to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty sure the Hyūga's already know about us, so I don't know why Neji keeps trying to hide who he is." Kiba stirred his coffee in a sluggish pace, eyes slightly closed because of how tired he felt.

Unfortunately, the brunette had not gotten much sleep lately because of everything that had been happening with his life. Even though he wasn't someone that usually needed coffee- he always had more than enough energy for all of his duties on a normal day- this mess had made him need it to stay awake. Hence the coffee rather than his usual water.

"What's going on with you and Sakura?" Ino asked with a bit too much enthusiasm, more than happy with taking the attention off of the mess that was her relationship.

Kiba whined softly at not being able to speak yet, but Ino rolled her eyes in a manner that translated into 'We'll get to you. Be patient!'.

"She texts and calls constantly." Tenten started off with her voice under control, but quickly became agitated. "Like I told her that I'm at lunch with you two- people she knows, by the way- and she hasn't stopped texting me!" Her hands tightened around her mug of tea as she began to glare into the drink, "God forbid me getting home after 6 in the goddamn afternoon! It's like I'm being held by T&I! 'Where were you? Who were you with? Are you cheating on me?' I mean, seriously, woman?! I just want to have lunch with friends without you trying to crawl up my ass!"

Her agitated rant was finalized with a roll of her dark eyes. For the fourth time since they had gotten to the restaurant, her cell phone chirped. And it was a miracle the fiery kunoichi had not yet thrown it against a wall.

"Well to be fair, you do kind of have a history of hopping from relationship to relationship." Kiba admitted, much too tired to even be worried about having her ire turned on him. "Can you really blame her for being worried that the same thing is going to happen to her?"

"I've been with her for almost a year now!" The kunoichi all but screamed, then suddenly quieted down to an almost whispering level, "I haven't slept around on her, I haven't left her. What the hell is it going to take?"

Tenten was not ignorant, she was more than aware as to not having the best history when it came to relationships. But she was truly trying with this one! Unfortunately, even with all of her hard work, it was beginning to look like it wasn't going to be worth it in the long run.

"But don't think we forgot about you, blondie," Tenten warned with a sudden jolt of energy, then turned to her blonde friend, "What is happening with you and Mr. Unfeeling?"

At suddenly being targeted by her friend, Ino frowned and leaned deeper into the comfortable booth she sat on. Then her eyes glanced over the dark table that held their food and drinks, trying to keep from making eye contact with either of her friends.

Upon noticing her reluctance to answer, both chunin that accompanied her immediately knew that things were much more serious than initially thought. Kiba leaned onto his arms and looked Ino directly in the eyes, his own brown ones worried and curious.

"What did that bastard do? Should I prepare my rusty kunai?"

The question alerted Tenten, but soon their blonde friend sighed and did her best to calm them down.

"It's nothing,"

She really did try to get them both to cool down from the murderous intentions shining in their eyes. But then they just shot her looks that clearly said, 'We don't believe you and you will tell us now.' And even though on a regular day she would hold fast and not give in, the Yamanaka was just so tired that she relented.

"Fine... I thought I could help him..." The blonde began to stir her tea as she rested her cheek against her left hand, then closed her eyes. "I thought that, you know, I could get him to actually express himself and how he feels. But all I ever see is that stupid fake smile and he just keeps calling me Miss Beautiful." With a heavy sigh, the blonde then opened her eyes and leaned back to cross her arms over her chest. "I hate that name."

Both of her companions looked at her, waiting for her to continue. But the blonde merely closed her mouth, as if not wanting to continue to speak.

"Well..." Tenten looked over at Kiba uncertainly for a moment, only to have him nod, silently telling her to urge the blonde on. "Have you told him any of this?"

"Of course I have." The Yamanaka lamented, "I try to ask him how he feels and I just get this blank mask of nothing. It's like he doesn't have any emotions!" She huffed out before groaning and hunching over. "I hate our arguments. I'll say something that should get him angry but he doesn't, he just agrees to it! I don't know how to break through to him... And I don't want to say this, but it's as if he were some kid and I'm just there to hold his hand..."

The end of her speech was remorseful and tired. But then the blonde took one sip of her tea, regained her composure, and looked over at Kiba with eyes that weren't completely glaring, but still held a hint of spite.

"And you, Inuzuka? What's going on with you and Neji?"

Much like Ino, when attention was turned on him, Kiba wished to talk of something else. But seeing how both of his friends had spoken about the woes that bothered them, he decided to not argue and just explain himself to them.

"He's really high strung..." The Inuzuka huffed as he raised his mug to take a sip from his coffee, "I try and give him a peck on the cheek, he freaks out, and then I have an angered and prissy Hyūga on my hands! I can't even try and hold his hand. And if we're at his compound he doesn't even talk to me." He took a moment to drink from his coffee, then set it down to continue. "I don't know if I can keep dating someone that keeps treating me like I'm some dirty little secret."

With this the Inuzuka finished draining his drink, set down the mug on the table, and looked at both his friends with pain clear in his eyes.

Of the three, he had been in the longest relationship. When he and Neji had first gotten together, they had just been genin. Kiba had known the Hyūga would be high strung and their relationship would be a secret, but he had not been bothered by that at first because he hadn't accepted his own sexuality. He'd only been fourteen back then, after all. A hyperactive little shit with way too much male pride.

But while Kiba had grown up, it felt as if Neji had not. Their relationship was not supposed to be a secret anymore, all of their friends knew about them. But the older male kept Kiba just about hidden whenever in his home and barely ever showed any kind of intimacy if they weren't alone.

There were only so many cold shoulders Kiba could accept before he tired completely.

All three chunin sat in silence for a while after this, all of them feeling regretful and tired of their own relationships.

"I just want someone that'll trust me..." Tenten murmured, taking a sip from her drink.

"I don't want someone to change... I just want someone that's perfect the way he is." Ino admitted, throwing herself back into her seat once more.

"And I want someone that isn't afraid of having a public relationship." Kiba finished with a heavy sigh, then looked over at Ino.

Unlike Tenten and he, the girl had a thoughtful look on her face. Her lips were pursed and her eyebrows drawn together.

"What are you thinking about, Blondie?"

He knew that Ino hated that nickname. But she had grown to reluctantly accept it after years of being called it by him.

"We..." She began, eyes focused on a point between both Tenten and Kiba, "Should..." Then she smirked softly and looked at both chunin once before finishing, "Date older people."

Both of her friends were stunned into silence after this. And Ino felt somewhat embarrassed, so she looked up at the ceiling to avoid seeing her friend's confused gazes.

"More experience means more orgasms," Tenten suddenly chimed with nothing but excitement in her voice, making Ino look at her in surprise and slight disgust.

"Glad to know where your brain is."

"Please, you can't tell me that you've had an orgasm since you started dating that stick in the mud!" The older girl argued with a good natured smirk.

"I-" Ino began before Kiba interrupted. "Your own hand doesn't count, hon." His own smirk caused the blonde to become annoyed.

But soon her annoyance bled into tiredness and she huffed, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes strayed away from her friends.

She didn't like her boyfriend's lack of romance to be rubbed into her face. But she didn't flip out on them because she knew that they were experiencing the same amount of disillusionment in love as her. If anybody else had told her this, though, they would be experiencing some very uncomfortable attacks to their brain right now.

Once her moment of annoyance was over, Ino looked over her friends. And much to her surprise, she found that they both were looking awfully pensive.

"You two-"

"In all seriousness, though," Kiba spoke up, interrupting Ino once more. "Maybe you're onto something there, Ino. An older gay man shouldn't have any trouble dating someone and accepting it."

"And if they're confident enough, they shouldn't doubt someone's fidelity." Tenten continued, but then frowned, "Should I really break it off with Sakura?"

Ino looked at her saddened friend with compassion, "Just like with Sai and I and Kiba and Neji... I think no one but ourselves can answer that question."

Kiba nodded in agreement, "It'll be hard... But I know we'll all be able to come to the right answer."

Tenten's smile was bitter, but she soon nodded and grabbed some money from her wallet before standing up from her chair.

"I'll see you guys next month, yeah?"

Both younger teens nodded and smiled back just as sadly before they too got up.

* * *

A whole month had passed since Ino had offered an odd solution for her and her friend's problems in love. And of all of them, the only one to have actually followed through with the option was Tenten.

"And her tongue-"

"Oh my God, Tenten, shut up already!" Kiba shouted as he clasped his hands over his face, trying to keep his reddened face from being seen. "We get it! Older women have better experience! I get it!"

Ino shared in the boy's discomfort, trying to keep her best from cringing as the waitress set their food down. The waitress herself was only a bit older than them and her own face was lit up as red as Kiba's tattoos, clearly showing her own distress because of what Tenten had been saying.

"Well you two asked how my relationship was." The dark haired girl smirked as she picked up her chopsticks, looking a thousand times happier when compared to the last time they had been at their favorite restaurant.

Ino wasn't even annoyed enough to glare at the other female. Instead she rolled her eyes and shook her head, "We did not mean hearing about your sex life right off the bat, woman." But soon she was smiling, "Although it's good to hear you're doing good."

Beginning to pick at her noodles, Tenten nodded gratefully at the blonde, "Well now you two are caught up on Anko and me. It's going awesome. How about with you?"

Ino picked up her own chopsticks to begin to eat, but answered before Kiba could, "I left Sai a week ago. I just couldn't deal with him anymore."

"You actually stayed with him until last week?" The Inuzuka asked in surprise, "I thought you'd left him sooner."

"I would have," The Yamanaka admitted in regret, "But then he surprised me with an actually romantic date. It was amazing... Which made it even harder to go back to him being such an emotionless automaton again..." With this the girl picked up a strip of fish from her salad and looked at Kiba with complete determination. "I got completely fed up with it last week when he wouldn't even tell me if he liked it when I gave him a goddamn blowjob."

"Shame." Tenten shook her head, "You should have broken up with him sooner. You could be on someone else like Kiba and I by now."

Kiba turned a glare onto Tenten as soon as he heard this, "Don't make me sound as if I'm some relationship butterfly like you!" He huffed, jutting a piece of steak in the girl's direction before chomping on it, "I actually think that Shikamaru and I can get far."

Hearing that her (supposedly) straight best friend was now dating her (more than obvious) bisexual friend made Ino gag just slightly. She loved them both to bits. But she'd known Shikamaru since they were kids, he was like her brother. Thinking about him doing some of the things Kiba was vocal about enjoying in the bedroom made the girl want to do something drastic to get the mental images out of her head.

And, if she was being honest, she knew that this relationship wouldn't last long. She knew Kiba and she knew Shikamaru. They may like each other, but they were just not compatible.

Ino gave them a month. Tops.

When Tenten looked over at Ino, the blonde knew that her thoughts were shared. The older teen was just as skeptical over this relationship. But for Kiba's sake, they would keep quiet and just let fate pan out.

"When I broke up with Neji, I thought I'd take some time to get over the heartache." Kiba murmured, picking up another piece of his steak with a dreamy smile. "But I'm so happy that I happened to find Shikamaru that day. And that it was raining enough to get him to change out of his wet clothes."

Once more Ino gagged. Kiba just smirked at her obvious unease. And Tenten rolled her eyes at them both.

"You two..." The girl shook her head, but soon changed the topic of the conversation, "I don't know if Anko and I will get far." But she still smiled proudly, "But I'm having a hell of a lot of fun now, she's hilarious and doesn't ask me where the hell I am every second of every day, and the sex is mindblowing."

Ino rolled her eyes at her friend because it seemed that all she ever truly thought about was sex, but soon smiled softly, "I'm just happy that I can move on and find myself a real man. Sai wasn't worth the months I wasted."

"That's the way to think about it, girl." Kiba smiled back at her, then leaned over the table to pat her on her head, "Look towards the future in hope."

"I like that. I'm gonna make that my moto, Dog Boy." Tenten winked at Kiba, then ruffled his hair, in a manner that made him regret his past actions towards Ino.

"You're a bitch." He growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You love me."

"…" The Inuzuka stayed silent, then looked over at Ino, "Why do we have her as a friend?"

"Because we love her very much." The blonde smiled back, but soon frowned when both of their cellphone's began to ring. "No. No. You're not-"

"Anko's got the toys ready, Ino!" Tenten whined, eyes wide in immediate desperation. "I gots to go!"

And then Kiba looked at her with the puppy dog eyes he hadn't used in years, "Chouji baked pies Ino... Hey, wait a sec, let me ask Shikamaru if you can join us."

"Wait a minute, you and Shikamaru are going to hang out with Chouji-"

Kiba held one finger up as he quickly texted Shikamaru with one hand, then smiled once he had received his answer.

"Come on! Let's finish up here quickly and you can join Shika and I."

Ino felt insulted at not having been contacted by her best friends, but soon sighed and agreed to go along.

It wouldn't hurt to get some of Chouji's delicious pie... Just as long as Shikamaru and Kiba didn't get too handsy.

* * *

The three chunin were not able to meet up once again the next month. Instead they had to wait two months to go ahead and meet up.

When Tenten arrived, she found it odd to see that neither of her friends were around. But she quickly shrugged it off, knowing that they would eventually show up because there was no way that they would leave her alone on a day like this.

After having sat down and waited for a good five minutes, Tenten felt a familiar chakra signature enter the restaurant. She smiled as she turned to watch her friend enter, although she found it somewhat odd how there was only one person and not the usual two.

Her amazingly awesome friend, Ino Yamanaka, walked in with a small smile of her own on her face.

"Sorry for being late." Her fellow kunoichi apologized as she moved to sit down on the chair parallel to Tenten's. "My dad wanted me to finish up a quick flower delivery before I came here."

Tenten, even though not accustomed to her friends being late, merely waved off the apology, "Don't worry about it, girl. Now we just need Kiba to get here and we can begin our little meetup properly."

On a normal day, Ino would have huffed about the Inuzuka's constant tardiness. It would have been something they would both comment about while they waited for him. But, instead of rolling her eyes and saying something about Kiba, Ino just looked down at the menu that was laid out on the table and picked it up to read.

Immediately Tenten knew something was up. But before she could ask what had happened between the Yamanaka and their male friend, the blonde was speaking up.

"So, how are things with Anko? Does she still have your mind in the gutter?" The blonde didn't look up from the menu as she spoke, looking more than a bit guilty to the older female.

Ino knew that Tenten wanted to speak about Kiba. The curiosity and interest was clear on the older teen's face. But she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. Luckily enough for her, it seemed that Tenten either understood how she didn't want to talk about it or just wanted to jump on the chance to talk about her girlfriend because she quickly began to talk about the older woman.

"I got to tell you, Ino, you were onto something amazing with the whole 'date older people' idea." Tenten didn't have to look over at the menu like Ino did, she always ordered the same thing when they were here. "Not only is the sex amazing, but she's so confident."

To Ino, it was amusing to see her friend actually swooning over another human being. The last time she had done this had been a long time ago, back when her relationship with Sakura had still been young and new. But now it was directed at Anko, someone Tenten had been with for more than two months now.

"It's like we went out to this club, yeah? And I told her that I wanted to dance." Tenten's eyes glossed over with nothing but admiration at this, making Ino happy at the fact that at least one of her friend's was happy. "She was tired after a long day of interrogations or whatever, so she told me to go ahead and do what I wanted. I go ahead and get to dancing and there're are these two really cute guys dancing with me."

Ino quirked an eyebrow at this bit, but soon Tenten rolled her eyes, "I don't have to be straight to tell when a guy's cute, Blondie." The dark haired kunoichi huffed but soon continued her story. "Anyway, we start dancing and I'm sandwiched between them and they're hilarious!" Suddenly she stops for a moment and her eyes narrow, "If I had been with Sakura, I wouldn't have been able to even go out to a club. Much less dance with those guys." Soon enough, though, she was smiling once more, "But I was with Anko and instead of getting jealous over me having a good time with complete strangers, she grabs me by the waist once I go back to her and tells me that I looked hot while dancing! And that she wanted some private dances for herself once we got back to her apartment."

With this, Tenten leaned her cheek against her hand, all the while positively swooning.

"She said I gave her the best lap dance she's ever experienced."

It was good to hear that Tenten's relationship was going so well. After having had Sakura always trying to keep tabs on her, the kunoichi really deserved someone good for her.

They all deserved someone good.

"But that's enough about me." Tenten shook her head softly then looked Ino directly in the eyes. "What's going on with you? Anything important to tell me? Any new boy toys?"

The blonde rolled her eyes at her friend's clear taunting of her love for stable relationships, but quickly nodded. "Yeah... Actually, there is someone."

"What?" Tenten gasped, "No way! Who?! Do I know him?"

The Yamanaka had been expecting the surprise from her friend. And the overreaction, too. So she only chuckled softly before explaining herself.

"I think you do. You remember Gaara, right?"

"You're not dating the Kazekage!"

"No!" Ino glared at her friend, actually feeling somewhat insulted. "But what's so bad about him?"

Tenten returned the glare as she crossed her arms over her chest, "You trade in one emotionally stunted older guy for one almost completely emotionally stunted younger guy?"

Ino huffed at this, but shook her head, causing her hair to bob slightly, "I'm not into redheads." Quickly enough, though, she was smiling again, "His brother, Kankuro."

For a moment, Tenten was left completely stunned. All she did was blink in complete silence at her friend. Then, "The guy with the paint on his face?"

"Yes." Ino smiled in amusement, "The guy with the paint on his face."

"No way!" Tenten suddenly scoffed, making Ino wonder where the sudden disgust was coming from. "He's a jerk! I don't know him all that well, but every time I've been around him, he's been just about a total dick to anyone that isn't his family."

Of all the guys Ino could think of dating... This guy? Hell, hearing about this, maybe Gaara wouldn't have been so bad...

"He's a sweetheart." Ino grumbled, "I know he doesn't act like it, but he really is. And he was the one to ask me out. He sent me flowers, chocolates, and even a really cute cat stuffed animal."

This all... It sounded somewhat romantic. Tenten found it hard to believe.

"I don't believe you."

"You should." Ino wasn't annoyed or even bothered by Tenten's reaction. She had been expecting it and was prepared to face it. "You know I'd never lie about something like this. He may act like a big toughie, but he's just a sweetheart on the inside." Then she motioned offhandedly with her hand, voice becoming somewhat strained. "Kinda like Kiba."

Tenten noticed the sudden change in her friend's tone. But just when she was about to ask about it, Ino's phone began to ring. And the blonde looked down at it, frowned softly, then began to stand up.

"I've got to go. Apparently Chouji and Shikamaru need me for something important." Ino breathed out in disappointment, "Let's try this again in a week or two? Maybe I'll actually be able to order some food."

"Yeah. Sure." Tenten knew that her friend was acting oddly, but also knew that she shouldn't ask her about anything.

When Ino felt comfortable, she would speak. Until then, though, Tenten would just have to wait.

Ino left quickly after that. Tenten began to wonder if she should just leave and go back home to sharpen her weapons, but then she felt another familiar chakra signature approaching her.

"Hey, Tenten, sorry for being so late." Kiba walked up to her from the direction that Ino had been sitting, which allowed her to see him walk up.

His smile didn't quite reach his eyes and the bags underneath his eyes were clear indicators to him not having had a good night's sleep in a while. And seeing how Ino had been acting weird herself, it wouldn't surprise Tenten at all to find out that they were both affecting each other. Especially considering how strained the blonde's voice had become when she had mentioned their absent friend.

Even though they all loved one another, all three of them were very stubborn individuals. Getting any of them to admit they were wrong was difficult enough. But getting them to acknowledge the problems they may be having was even harder.

Just like with Ino, if Kiba wanted to talk about it, he eventually would. Until then, though, it wouldn't make any sense to ask him.

Kiba sat down in the chair nearest to Tenten, pointedly avoiding the one Ino had been seated in. On a normal day, Tenten would rationalized that this was because he didn't want to sit down in a chair that had perfume wafting off of it, seeing how his nose was incredibly sensitive. But today... There was another reason for this.

"So, any news?" Tenten questioned as she motioned for their usual waitress to come and get their order.

She was hungry. And because she had been busy trying to figure out what was up with Ino, she hadn't gotten any food. She'd be damned, though, if she allowed Kiba to distract her enough to forget to order again.

The woman walked up to them with an amicable smile, took their orders, then left with friendly chuckles following.

Once she was gone, Kiba breathed in deeply and looked at Tenten with saddened eyes. "Shikamaru and I broke up. _Yesterday_."

Tenten's heart fell. "What?"

Tears welled up in the Inuzuka's eyes as he struggled to keep his composure, "We-uh... He just... I..." With a shaky sigh, the boy wrapped his arms around his body and looked away from Tenten. "Apparently, we just weren't compatible enough."

His voice was sour and pained and Tenten immediately felt a need to protect surge up within her.

"Compatible? The hell does that mean?" She grunted, "I thought you two really liked each other."

"I thoughts so too..." The Inuzuka whispered, then gulped and looked Tenten directly in the eyes. "Apparently, the odds of us being successful for more than just a few months were so low that he decided to give up. It would be too 'troublesome'." Kiba choked up at the final word and raised his hand to cover it up.

He was in pain. It was obvious that he had gotten far more attached to Shikamaru than the Nara to him. And the bastard had dared say something so unbelievably heartless to someone that thrived on emotions.

Half of Tenten's mind screamed at her to hunt the lazy bastard down and make him regret ever having spoken to her friend. But the other half begged her to stay with Kiba and comfort him.

"So he gave up because of the future?" She managed to make out through clenched teeth.

She wanted to punch something... But Kiba was close to breaking down... But Shikamaru deserved to live the rest of his life in fear from her... But Kiba needed to be comforted, he didn't have to hear about any plans of revenge.

Taking in a deep breath, Tenten puffed up her chest and nodded, "Then good riddance to him! You don't need someone so focused on the future that they're blinded to the present!"

Kiba's eyes widened upon hearing this, but he soon sniffled and smile. No tears had fallen, even though they had been dangerously close to doing so, and Tenten was proud that she had managed to avert a disaster.

Although... To her, it felt like this was more than just one disaster.

Ino was friends with both Shikamaru and Kiba. She had not been a believer of their relationship two months ago...

Tenten's eyes widened when she finally put two and two together.

"Kiba... Are you avoiding Ino?"

The Inuzuka froze upon hearing the blonde's name and seemed ready to argue and yell, but Tenten sent him a glare that read 'Don't you even try that game'. This made him deflate immediately and nod slowly.

"Shikamaru didn't say it, but... Well..." The Inuzuka scratched at the back of his neck as he looked away from his friend. "Let's just say that he hadn't given a damn about the future until he went off on a mission with his team. Neither he or Ino told me anything about it, but Chouji was nice enough to let me know that they had both spent some time together whispering about something or another." Then he looked back at Tenten, eyes mirroring the pain he felt within. "How else am I supposed to take that?"

He hadn't wanted to believe that Ino hadn't been involved with yesterday. He had wanted to think that Shikamaru had decided to throw in the towel simply because he truly was too lazy to work for anything good in his life. But, in a great moment of stupidity, he had texted Ino seeking comfort. And the blonde, as honest as ever, had kindly told him that she had not expected them to get far, now he was able to focus on someone that would treat him well.

But Shikamaru had treated him well. Sure, he had his moments of not wanting to do things because he just couldn't be bothered to do them. And of course there were moments in which they disagreed and didn't see eye to eye. But aside from those little hiccups, Kiba had actually thought he'd be able to go far with the Nara.

Only to get broken up with simply because they weren't 'compatible enough'.

It hurt. Even more so when he found out that Ino must have said something to his ex-boyfriend to get him to this decision.

The blonde would never directly tell someone to leave their significant other. She was much too kind and understanding to ever try and do something that underhanded. But she was one of Shikamaru's greatest friends. Kiba had a feeling like wasn't aware of it, but Ino was one of the few people who's opinions actually mattered to Shikamaru. And if she had said anything that would make him doubt their relationship... He didn't want to be angry with her, but it was kind of hard when all signs pointed to her.

"You don't know the full story, though." Tenten murmured as she scratched her chin in thought, "Have you asked Ino for her side?"

"Why-" Kiba cut himself off, though, with a heavy sigh. "It's too early... It just happened yesterday."

With sympathy just about radiating from her, Tenten nodded, moved her hand so it was covering Kiba's own, and smiled as encouragingly as she could.

"You'll both be able to deal with this. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, Tenten. You always seem to know what to say." Kiba smiled back sadly, then breathed in. "And because you're so nice, I will now listen to two whole minutes of you gushing about Anko."

This caused Tenten some surprise and the girl blinked at her friend in stupefaction. "No restrictions?"

"None at all."

Ino and Kiba weren't really all that eager to hear about Tente's love life. Never had been, really. But because she was so vocal about her life, so unashamed of something that really had no reason to make her feel ashamed, they had grown accustomed to it. So even though they didn't encourage it, they would often times listen reluctantly.

But right now... Kiba was going to listen with all ears rather than try and ignore her. So Tenten was going to take this chance and gush about the amazing older woman she'd been lucky enough to snag.

"Kiba, you have no idea how smart older people can be! Ino was totally onto something when she said that we should hook up with the old folks!" She began with wide eyes, body leaning forward until she was barely on her seat. "Anko is so intelligent, understanding, kind, and hoo boy! She's so good at everything she does! Not just in bed! It's everything!"

Normally at this point, Kiba would have this mischievous glint in his eyes, undoubtedly thinking about the tale he would tell to try and shock Tenten. He didn't mind hearing about her sex life, purely because he would then follow with his own. Usually, when they both talked about things like this, it was to one-up one another. See who had done the most weird and kinky things, just for the heck of it. It was all about competition. It had never been about lending a purely listening ear, though.

But right now his eyes were alert and his focus was on Tenten. With a soft smile on his lips- one that was much too sad to be Kiba's, but there wasn't much Tenten could do about that right now without knowing Ino's own side of the story-, the younger teen would nod every now and then. And sometimes he would even ask a question, showing that he truly was listening.

It was kind of weird that he was asking so much about the female body, but Tenten just chalked that up to him wanting to show he was paying attention.

* * *

Two weeks later found all three chunin back at their favorite table. Tenten happened to be the last to arrive, but it was because of unforeseen circumstances she was sure that her friends would be able to understand.

"'Sup, numb nuts?"

"Anko?" Ino's blue eyes widened in surprise at the purple haired woman suddenly appearing behind her to throw an arm over her shoulders, all the while Kiba leaned away from the crazed woman.

"What's she doing here?" The Inuzuka asked Tenten, who could only smile apologetically at both of her friends.

"I may have told her about your recent troubles with love?" Tenten knew that Kiba wouldn't be too happy to have his love life known by Anko, but she really had only done it to try and help him. Anko, for all the craziness she exuded, was actually a really intelligent woman. And if there was one thing she knew, it was romance.

"On that note," The older woman interrupted as she threw herself onto the chair opposite both Kiba and Ino, then pulled the last available chair closer to her so Tenten was right next to her. "Congrats on fucking the puppet fucker, princess."

Ino's face began to burn brightly in anger and embarrassment, but before she could even try to retort, Anko was turning to Kiba with a lecherous smile. "But that's not really why I'm here. My job right now is to help the lost little pup find his newest bone."

Kiba's own face was just as red as Ino's. And, really, Tenten felt somewhat bad for her friends. Anko could be terrible when she really put her mind to it. Just like she could be unbelievably caring and sympathetic whenever it was just the both of them, hidden away in the safety of Anko's apartment.

It was good, though, to see that both Ino and Kiba had been sitting together. That meant that they had come to some kind of understanding.

"Tenten..." Kiba growled as he turned his glare onto the older teen, who only smile and sat down beside her girlfriend.

He did not need Anko right now. He'd just managed to get to talking with Ino again a week ago.

She hadn't told Shikamaru to break up with him. But when Shikamaru had asked her what she thought about them both, she hadn't lied. She'd told him that she didn't really get how they were still together, even though she was happy they were happy.

Kiba, for the life of him, couldn't hate Ino. He loved her too much. And she hadn't purposely sabotaged his relationship. She had been asked a question and she had been honest. How could he hate someone for being honest? It hadn't been Ino to break up with him. It had been Shikamaru and his over analysis of their relationship.

So, yeah, it stung that she had indirectly caused their breakup. But their friendship was stronger than boyfriends. And they would survive this.

Sure, there was nothing more in the world that he wanted other than someone to share his life with. All of his life, all he'd ever wanted was a partner that was as loyal to him as he to them. But he highly doubted that he should be putting himself on the market once more after only two weeks of a really bad and heartbreaking breakup.

"Listen to me, puppy, if you want good sex-"

"That is not what I want." Kiba deadpanned as he crossed his arms over his chest, although Anko acted as if he had never spoken up.

"You can't go for Nara. Men or women. They're just too lazy. And for an Inuzuka with boundless energy like you, they're just not right. I would have given you two a year at most before you grew so frustrated with his laziness that you broke it off for good." As she said this, she spoke in a matter of fact manner. And, really, Kiba knew she was right. After having listened to Ino's side of the story, he could understand why it was that literally nobody had expected them to last.

It still would have been nice to be able to stay with Shikamaru for a bit longer than just few short months...

"Anko, Kiba's not looking for sex." Ino spoke up softly, making all attention turn onto the blonde. "Like me, he wants an actual relationship. You know, dating, hanging out, getting flowers... No offense on you guys, but he's not the kind to fuck on the first date."

Suddenly Ino remembered one of the few things she had unfortunately heard about Kiba and Shikamaru's first true meeting, and corrected her past statement. "He doesn't _usually_ fuck on the first date."

With an easy smirk, Anko waved her off, "Nonsense. It's no secret Tenten and I started off as a one night stand. And there's nothing wrong with getting a small sample of a whole meal." Then she turned to Tenten and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, "Best of my life, by the way, babe."

Tenten smiled like a kid that had just received candy. Ino and Kiba could only roll their eyes.

"But I know love, kids. I've been on this earth for a long time now," Anko turned back to them, only for Ino to scoff.

"You're, like, twenty five."

"Twenty eight to be precise, sweet cheeks." Anko winked at her, then returned to her initial point. "I've been around the block a time or two. Love ain't easy and usually leaves you broken hearted. You can't rush it, but you can't leave yourself doing nothing..." With this she turned her light brown eyes on Kiba with complete severity clear within. "You say you want a serious relationship?"

The Inuzuka thought about his answer for a moment before nodding.

"And you say you're bisexual?"

"Yeah..."

"Well I think I know the perfect woman for you." Anko then smiled once more, "Also, princess, is there any reason as to why you think that dating someone older might just be a good idea?"

Ino, knowing that this was a woman that had worked with her father back when he had still been in charge of T&I and that she had known her since she had been born, was left red faced. Hearing her calling her out on her ideas was akin to her father doing so. And there was nothing more embarrassing than someone so close to her father asking things about her romantic life.

The blonde felt Kiba patting her shoulder in comfort and she was grateful for the gesture. It was good to know that there were still some good people in the world.

"If you stop ribbing on Ino, I'll go out with your woman."

"Awesome!" Anko's smile was overly bright with this, then she looked around the restaurant, "Who's cock do I got to suck to get some service?!"

Ino shoved her face into her hands as it began to burn, all the while Kiba shook his head. Tenten just rolled her eyes and snuggled up to her girlfriend, more than happy with the fact that her friends had accepted her so easily.

* * *

One month later, all three chunin were joined by their respective partners. After Tenten had so suddenly (there had been many apologies made and gifts given for Anko's sudden appearance) decided to bring her girlfriend along, all three had decided that it wouldn't hurt to share this piece of themselves with their significant others.

Getting Kankuro to Konoha had not been easy. Nor coordinating this get together well enough for all of them to be able to stay together and eat before work called.

But now all six ninja sat down eating, sharing in easy conversation.

"No, I kid you guys not!" Kiba insisted as Tenten, Anko, and Kankuro laughed raucously, all the while Ino and Yugao remained just a tiny bit more composed. "I seriously ended up seeing Yugao setting the Hokage to bed."

"Fuck! I remember that night!" Anko slammed her fists on the table before she gulped in a giant breath, "I stole her saké!"

Tenten leaned on her girlfriend's shoulder as she pressed her arms against her stomach, for it hurt to laugh so much. "Best drink of my life!"

Yugao contained her laughter much better than the rest of the people on the table, but she did not mind her boyfriend taking part in such humor. She enjoyed seeing Kiba laughing so loudly, the boy really looked better when he smiled.

"I still cannot believe Akamaru allowed himself to be her pillow." She offered, which made Kiba fall into yet another round of laughter.

That night had been quite interesting. Their second true date night after Anko's blind date and it had been interrupted by Yugao being called in to deal with a drunken and disorderly Hokage. Kiba and Akamaru had gone along like true gentlemen and helped when necessary. And the image of the volatile woman cuddling up to the large dog was one they both valued dearly. It was just pure luck that Kiba had been able to take a picture of the scene.

"That sounds like an amazing night." Kankuro shook his head as he chuckled, "You Leaf idiots are insane."

Suddenly he froze up, eyes going wide as his lips tightened. Yugao and Anko immediately noticed this, even though Kiba and Tenten continued laughing. But soon enough he was trying to smile once more, trying to keep the atmosphere light.

The fact that Ino's smile was tight now certainly didn't help.

Yugao's eyes narrowed for a second before she felt Kiba's hand sliding into her own. And when she looked over at the younger male, she found that his eyes were silently asking him if everything was alright.

With a quick nod, the woman motioned for Kankuro with her free hand. "I'm sure you have wild stories of your own. Why don't you tell us some?"

His eyes flitted in unsurity for a moment, smile just about dropping, then he let out an uneasy chuckle, "But you guys don't really know Suna people... I'd be the only one that really understands..."

"Nonsense, Kanky!" Anko interjected, "We'll follow along! Promise!"

"Yeah." Tenten agreed, "Besides, we know who your siblings are. And Baki Sensei too."

Kankuro was completely uncomfortable at this point. His body language let Yugao know this. But why, she was not sure. From what Kiba had told her, they had known Kankuro for years now. Even before he had entered a relationship with Ino, he and Kiba had been good friends. Just why he felt so uncomfortable was beyond her. They had already shown that they were an easy going crowd...

When the long haired woman went from looking Kankuro over to check Ino, she believed she had found the reason why he was so unsure. The blonde was not happy.

She had been acting somewhat strangely the whole evening. Her laughter was not as loud as Yugao had expected, but she'd just chalked that up to her being more reserved than either of her friends. But now her eyes were blazing in silent fury.

"Well... Alright..." Kankuro murmured, then began to tell them a rather hilarious and interesting story about the first time his younger brother, Gaara, had been given sweets after years of familial issues.

* * *

"We would always get into such stupid arguments..."

"Oh, Ino..." Tenten murmured softly as she saw her best friend fighting back her tears.

Kiba felt bad for his friend and his heart clenched for her as much as it did for Kankuro. Ino was his friend, first and foremost. He'd be there for her no matter what. But he couldn't tell her lies about Kankuro because he happened to be a good friend as well. He'd tell her the truth... She needed it, after all. Ino was strong and had never been the kind to delude herself.

"I was so unfair to him!" The blonde finally gave in to her tears, throwing herself onto Tenten as Kiba rubbed her shoulders. "But he was never around and then when he was, he just wanted to hang out with his friends and that always annoyed me so much! Like I was supposed to be his girlfriend! But it seemed like he just wanted to have fun with you guys!"

Her relationship with Kankuro had been shorter than what Ino was used to. She took relationships seriously and refused to give up on them unless absolutely necessary. At one point, she had actually seen a very bright future with the puppeteer from Suna.

But the distance was too much of a pressure on the both of them. She had thought they would be able to do it, she really had. And for a time, they had managed. But on the few times he managed to sneak away to Konoha, he barely spent time with her. Even though she knew he loved her, he didn't understand that she couldn't play second fiddle to her friends.

The debacle over last night's dinner had just been the breaking point. He had not enjoyed her elbowing him when he'd called them idiots. But she'd told him a thousand times to not call any of them that. She understood how usual it was for him to say something like that, but she didn't like being called an idiot just because she was from another village.

They'd argued. They'd screamed. Then, finally, Kankuro had screamed that, maybe, if she couldn't understand his need for friends, then maybe they couldn't be in a relationship. Ino had then screamed that if he actually doubted that they should be in a relationship, then maybe he should pack his bags and return to his precious, blistering, horrible Suna seeing how he loved it more than her.

Kankuro had agreed... He'd left immediately...

So now she found herself on the rooftop of her favorite restaurant with both of her friends holding her as she cried over the puppeteer she had foolishly let slip through her fingers.

"It's okay to be stupid, you know." Kiba whispered into her ear, then pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "We all make stupid mistakes. We're still learning, Ino."

"But I should have been smarter!"

How could she say she wanted a serious relationship if she wasn't even able to keep her temper in check?

Suddenly, Tenten's hands were on her shoulders, pulling her back so they could look at one another.

"Girl, how old are you?"

"S-Sixteen." Ino hiccuped, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"And how old is Kankuro?"

"Seventeen. But, Tenten-"

"Ino, we're all kids. We're all dumbasses. We all make mistakes." Tenten offered an encouraging smile, then wrapped her arms around the blonde once more. "You know what you learned from this breakup? To be more tolerant of your partner's wishes. To not blow up at them suddenly. And to communicate. There's nothing wrong with learning."

"But... What if he's as good as it'll get? What if I never meet-" Ino was so worried that Kankuro would be her last good relationship that she felt she was at the brink of breaking down.

But then Kiba wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, holding her tightly.

"Have you met yourself? There is no reason to be so worried. He was great, there's no doubt about that. You two were adorable together, it hurts to see that it ended. But you're smart, caring, have a kick ass body, and one of the best attitudes to getting knocked down I've ever seen."

With this, she felt Tenten's body wrapping around them both, making the hug one shared by all three of them.

"You'll be fine, Ino. I'm sure of it.

* * *

Yugao enjoyed being around Kiba and his friends. They were young, but weren't overly annoying. Most of the times they were actually rather intelligent, lending to thoughtful conversations rather than trying to speak of something dumb and inconsequential.

If she was being honest, the only times Kiba actually acted his age whenever around her was when someone pulled him into being stupid. But most of the times he tried to act as if he were older and wiser, just to keep her pleased.

Yugao liked the fact that he tried so hard to keep her pleased. Although she felt that he really didn't have to. She enjoyed hearing him laugh, even when it came from a very stupid joke. If anything, she liked the dumb and innocent jokes the most, for they allowed her to remember that not everything in her life was permeated by doom and gloom.

Ever since Hayate's death, it had been hard to get back onto the dating scene. And when Anko had offered her a date with a young, wide eyed pup, she had been more than hesitant. She had been the 'young' one in her relationship with the now deceased man for, even though he was older by just one year, he had lived through so much more. He had been the one to train her in ANBU, after all. And he had been the one to slow her down whenever her impulsive thoughts tried to get the best of her.

Kiba was adorable. He was kind. And he had a never ending amount of energy that meant that their time together was never dull. Him being so purely awed by anything that seemed just the tiniest bit shiny was so cute that Yugao could not stop herself from wishing to keep that innocence pure.

Yugao was glad they had found each other.

"So, how's the sex?"

Yugao was caught off guard by the question. But not as much as her boyfriend.

Kiba began to choke on the soda he had been drinking, causing Yugao to have to smack his back to stop him from keeling over on the table.

"Tenten!" He shouted with his face redder than Yugao had ever seen.

Kiba had never been the kind to shy away from his sex life. Sure, he didn't like hearing about Tenten's. But he also wasn't about to step down from a challenge whenever she issued it.

Well, that was the normal case... But right now, he couldn't believe Tenten had said such a thing.

"What?" Anko questioned, eyes going from Yugao to Kiba, "Sex is a purely normal thing in a relationship that has been going on for as long as yours."

Kiba wanted to hide and never be seen ever again.

They hadn't had sex yet. Hell, he and Yugao had just moved on from kissing to cuddling a week ago. Their relationship wasn't one that was founded upon the physical aspects and he liked that. They were getting to know one another before they did anything foolish that might ruin what they had.

"It's only been a month." When he looked at Yugao, all Kiba really wished for was to be stricken dead. Her face was an emotionless mask she had never used around him before.

"Yeah. Normal time for sex." Tenten agreed with Anko, then turned to Ino. "Aren't we right?"

The blonde Yamanaka breathed in before looking at them both with fond exasperation, "You are so very wrong right now... Guys, once more, Kiba isn't the kind to jump someone's bones on the first date."

With a roll of her eyes, Anko waved her words off, "Please, we all know the story about the Nara!"

Kiba froze at the mention of the name, then shook his head and looked at Yugao with pleading eyes. 'Please... Do something', they said. So the woman nodded and looked at Ino, "How have your plans of joining T&I worked out?"

"Hey!"

"Pretty well." Ino answered, ignoring the glares coming from both Anko and Tenten. "I just need to get a signature from the Hokage saying that she approves of T&I taking me on to train. Then I should be allowed to shadow one of the older shinobi to begin to learn the ropes."

Kiba had never wanted to hug Ino so much before. Thank God she was such a good friend! Unlike the traitorous Tenten...

"You excited to work for us, Princess?" Anko questioned, quickly understanding that, maybe, they had gone just a tiny bit too far with ribbing on Kiba. "We ain't going to go easy just because you're Inoichi's kid."

"I wouldn't expect any less." Ino smiled at her, then nodded, even though it seemed as if she were trying to assure herself more than her friends, "I'm ready to take on my dad's legacy. And I'm ready to make the Yamanaka Clan proud."

Yugao smiled back at her, "That's good. I'm sure T&I always has room for ninja ready to take on the world."

"Do we ever!" Anko nodded, then turned to look at Tenten, "Say, why don't you try and get recruited?"

Tenten simply rolled her eyes, "Because we already tried, remember? Ibiki said he refused to have two Anko's running around."

"Right... I forgot about that..." Anko chuckled softly, then shrugged. "Oh well. You still come visit every now and then, so's I'm happy."

"Good. And you better _stay_ happy." Tenten demanded before pressing her lips into Anko's awaiting ones.

From the way both Kiba and Ino groaned in exasperation, Yugao guessed they must have been rather tired of always seeing these two always being so open with their relationship.

… She could not blame them... Seeing how she and Kiba were still not so open with their own relationship, she could understand why they would be just the tiniest bit irritated by the constant affection these two showed.

* * *

The next time the three chunin met up, it was without their partners. Just the three of them. Like Ino and Kiba had asked of Tenten.

"See? I can keep my promises." Tenten smiled as Kiba munched on his food, all the while Ino sipped at her tea.

"Thank you. We like Anko." Ino offered, and Kiba finished. "But we can only take so much of her sometimes."

"Yeah..." Tenten smiled softly, "She can be kind of difficult sometimes."

The unusual sad intonation to her tone was immediately caught on by both of her friends. "Trouble in paradise?" Ino questioned, only for Tenten to shake her head.

"No relationship is perfect." The older girl answered, "There'll always be complications. What makes a good relationship is being able to get past those complications and growing stronger from them."

Kiba and Ino shared a concerned look because of how completely serious Tenten sounded. But before they could ask her just what had happened between her and her girlfriend, the older teen was veering the conversation off of that topic.

"So, Ino, word around town is that you and a certain ninja toothpick have begun to court."

With a small roll of her eyes at the sudden change, the blonde smiled softly. "The word would be correct."

Kiba and Tenten both were surprised at Ino's lack of reaction, turning to one another to exchange surprised looks. Normally when it came to these kinds of rumors, Ino would deny them all while scolding them for listening to the rumor mill run by bored Konoha shinobi. But the fact that she hadn't reacted so violently... Then her relationship with Genma was much more serious than what the rumors had led them to believe.

"Seriously? No way, Ino!" Tenten gasped, "I thought you were going to take things slow after Kankuro!"

For the first time since the breakup Ino didn't wince at the mention of her ex. Instead the blonde offered a small, still saddened sigh. Which, considering how heartbroken she had been because of their relationship devolving so suddenly, was a very big improvement and huge sign as to her recovering.

"We are taking things slow... We haven't even gone out on a date or anything..."

"So, what? You've just been flirting all around the office?" Kiba asked as he quirked an eyebrow, then he pursed his lips. "Wait a minute... Doesn't Ibiki run all of T&I?"

Tenten was confused by the question. So she asked just why in the world Kiba would think of Ibiki when they were talking about Ino and Genma. "What's he got to do with Ino's love life?"

Kiba didn't answer immediately. And because she grew annoyed with him, Tenten turned to look over at Ino, seeking for an answer. But when she found the blonde's face lighting up with a furious blush, Tenten knew just why he had asked such a question.

"No way! Ibiki's butting into your love life, isn't he?! Kiba, how'd you know?"

The only male at the table offered a small shrug, "Can't say I'm surprised to hear about this. Ino's like Ibiki's little girl, right? He's scared us enough times to keep us from being too stupid around her to figure that out."

At this, Tenten remembered quite a few times in which the intimidating Head of T&I had walked up to both her and Kiba to warn them off of their insane plans. Of course, this had happened mostly when they had still been genin, seeing how they didn't have the time to actually be too stupid now that they were always busy.

She had not known Ino as kids. Even though Kiba had. So it really wouldn't surprise her to find out that they had lived through a few things before she'd befriended them.

"So Ibiki's the one giving you trouble, huh?" Tenten asked after a moment's thought, then smiled up at her friends. "I know the perfect way to get him off your ass!"

Tenten knew that Ibiki was gay. She knew this because Anko had no qualms about sharing intimate and private things of her best friend's life to her girlfriend. And even though they were currently going through a few problems because of their inability to stay still and listen, Tenten just knew that Anko would listen to her with the plan she had just come up.

It wouldn't be easy, seeing how Kiba was still dating Yugao... But, it was time for the Inuzuka to face reality. He and the woman just weren't made to be romantically involved. Friends? Without a doubt. But they just didn't mesh as lovers.

Ino rolled her eyes as Tenten's face was suddenly overcome with an almost maniacal smile. Then she turned her attention onto Kiba, wishing to divert attention from her own love life.

"How have things been with Yugao?"

The Inuzuka's face shifted into one of slight sadness as he sighed, "We broke up."

Both of his friends froze upon hearing this. Then, suddenly, "What?! You were so good together! Why'd you break up!?"

As he scratched the back of his head, Kiba shrugged, "We're really good as friends. But I guess that's all we were supposed to be. Whenever we tried to do... Well... Couple stuff, it never fault all that right."

Kiba loved being with Yugao. And he loved her as a person. Just like she loved him. But that love never felt as if it should have been any more than purely friendly. When they kissed, things didn't feel off. But there certainly weren't any sparks flying around. And on the few occasions they tried to fool around, Kiba knew that just as he forced himself, Yugao was forcing herself. So after a completely honest talk, they had agreed that they just hadn't been destined to be together as more than just friends.

"But it's all good. We broke up on good terms and are still able to hang out. We were able to get together yesterday, actually, and she told me all about the trainwreck of a mission she went on with Kotetsu and Izumo." The Inuzuka offered both his friends a large smile at this, "Trust me when I say it's all good, guys."

There was a moment in which both females shared looks of disbelief, how could anyone possibly be friends with their ex? But they knew that if Kiba didn't want anything to do with Yugao, then he would have not hesitated to separate himself from her. Maybe they really were better off as friends than lovers...

"Crying shame..." Tenten huffed softly as she forced herself to act as if she were bothered by the new, even though in the back of her mind she was cheering. She may just be able to go through with her plan! "Anko was so happy to see you two together."

"Of course she was happy, she loves to play matchmaker." Ino huffed, suddenly sounding more than just a bit annoyed. "She keeps throwing Genma at me at the worst of times. It's like she enjoys making Ibiki turn on him."

The image made both Kiba and Tenten begin to snicker at Ino's expense. But soon enough Kiba received a text message on his phone that made him stand up, "Ma wants me to pick up some documents from T&I. Want me to tell Ibiki to stop hounding Genma, Blondie?"

The blonde sent a harsh glare in his direction that only made him chuckle as he pushed his plate away from himself to stand up from the table. Then, with a two fingered salute, the Inuzuka walked off, whistling loudly to call Akamaru from whatever hiding place he had huddled into this time around.

Once the male was gone, Tenten turned a smirk onto Ino.

"You know... Kiba doesn't mind trying both fields."

Ino quirked a slightly confused eyebrow at the odd words, "We're talking about his sexuality, right?"

"Yup." The dark haired girl nodded, "Kiba doesn't mind trying out both guys and girls as long as they're serious about a relationship."

"I am well aware of this, Tenten." Ino answered sardonically, "You're the only one out of all three of us that never took relationships seriously."

The older's smirk dropped immediately upon hearing this, "I'm not even going to answer that." She just about growled, then shook her head to breathe in and calm down. "Look, I'm saying you've got an Ibiki sized problem keeping you from getting anywhere with Genma."

Ino frowned at this, "It's not a problem because it's not like we're trying to-"

Tenten suddenly surged forward to cover Ino's mouth with her hand, smiling maniacally. "What if we were to distract the Ibiki sized problem with a Kiba sized solution?"

"Tenten-"

"I'll get Anko to help us out! This is perfect!"

Ino wasn't able to say anything without Tenten interrupting her to gush about her greatest plan yet.

* * *

Three months later found the three chunin getting together once more after not being able to coordinate because of missions. With them were their respective partners.

"There's no way Anko's any better than Ibiki! Tenten, you haven't seen what his tongue-"

"Inuzuka! Please! This is a public place!" Ibiki interrupted his heated lover as he tried to pull the teen to sit back down, even as Tenten laughed in his face.

"If I didn't know Ibiki was a straight arrow, I'd invite you over a threesome, kid, just so you were able to see just how amazing my tongue can be!" Anko smirked over at her best friend, sending him a wink even as he sent her a glare meant to silence her.

As Kiba and Tenten fell into yet another round of 'My lover's better', Genma and Ino remained seated and quiet. Genma Shiranui was enjoying seeing the insanity that his girlfriend's friends could unleash and chuckled to himself every now and then. He felt the need to say something about himself, just so that they knew that Anko and Ibiki weren't the only 'old people' with moves, but he was more than aware that if he said anything, Ino would kick his ass all around the village.

The blonde, as Genma chuckled to himself, only shook her head at her immature friends. They couldn't even go one meeting without comparing their respective lovers.

"Quick, Ino, how good is Genma in bed!?"

"I'm not talking about that." Ino rolled her eyes at Kiba and Tenten's maniacal looks of determination, then glared at Genma as he began to open her mouth. "Say something. I dare you."

That had the man shutting up immediately.

Kiba and Ino whined at not being able to hear about Genma, but all Ino could think about was the cautionary glare that Ibiki was sending her boyfriend.

The man really was much too protective of her sometimes. It was a good thing he now had Kiba to worry about. His time was so taken up by the hyperactive Inuzuka that he barely had enough time to threaten Genma away from Ino. For when he wasn't working at T&I, he could usually be found being lugged around the village by an animated Kiba.

It brought Ino a lot of joy to see her best friend finally with someone that was so good for him. Even though Ibiki was serious and enjoyed order, he could understand the need to throw caution in the wind. And from Kiba's more than enthusiastic insistence about his actions in bed, Ino (unfortunately) knew that he had quite a bit of stamina to be able to keep up with his boyfriend.

"Oh, come on, Princess! I wanna hear!"

"Tenten, please don't."

"Oy, 'Biki, you can't talk to my girl like that!" Anko glared over at her best friend, which only made Ibiki roll his eyes as he grabbed Kiba's hand to pull him to sit back down.

Kiba was about to jump back up so he could continue arguing with Tenten, but quickly froze up when he felt the larger man's arms wrapping around his shoulder. And as if suddenly lulled, the Inuzuka curled up to the man's side with a pleased smile on his lips.

"How about we talk about something other than sex?"

"Thank you." Ino smiled at her father's good friend before she looked over at Tenten to ask, "How about we talk about your recent promotion? I don't think I've ever heard of a chunin being trusted with one of the most important weapons vault in Konoha."

With a proud smile, Tenten waved at Ino, "It's nothing, really. My genius was just finally noticed by a certain Head of T&I."

With a roll of his eyes, Ibiki shook his head, "I did nothing. I've told you this a thousand times, kid."

"Sure, 'Biki." Anko nodded at her friend, then winked, "Thank you, though. For nothing, I mean. Because you clearly did nothing to help my girlfriend out. Clearly."

Kiba smiled at the words then patted Ibiki's shoulder softly, "There, there, big guy. I believe you." Then he looked over at Anko to mouth, "I don't."

As this happened Ino felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her towards a sturdy body. And the blonde allowed herself to be pulled into Genma, more than comfortable with the man she was fortunate enough to call hers.

It hadn't been easy. There had been quite a few times in which Ino had thought Genma wouldn't want anything to do with her because she was so young and inexperienced and acted foolishly. But they managed to get together two months ago and Ino just knew that this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

"Seriously, though." Tenten suddenly spoke up, looking from Kiba over to Ino with a proud smile, "We were geniuses to find ourselves older people. Fuck girls my age, they're stupid."

"Hey!" Ino glared, only to receive a shrug from her friend. "You are, my friend."

With a roll of her eyes, Ino cuddled back into Genma's side and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "… It wasn't my worst idea."

..~..~..

And that is the story! I hope you all enjoy this one-shot that took me quite a while to write!

Please don't forget to review! Tell me what y'all liked, please!


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